


Stuck

by Nadollar25



Category: Chris Evans Actor RPF
Genre: Bearded Chris Evans, Chris Evans fanfic- freeform, Chris Evans/Original Female Character - Freeform, Claustrophobia, Conversations, Drinking, F/M, Fluff, Scott Evans - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-28
Updated: 2017-07-28
Packaged: 2018-12-07 22:44:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11633496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nadollar25/pseuds/Nadollar25
Summary: Jess is trying to make a name for herself in the PR industry by working with Scott Evans, who invites her to a party. She doesn't expect to be stuck in an elevator with a stranger on her way there.





	Stuck

**Author's Note:**

> This began as a one-shot. I hope I didn't make it too wordy. Thanks for taking a chance and reading it.

  
    Jess felt her phone vibrate in her pocket as she put a bottle of tequila into her cart. She fished it out and let out a sigh, noticing it was her mother calling. She hit the red “end call” button to send the call to voicemail, feeling a slight tinge of guilt as she chose to continue her shopping. She knew her mother was lonely now that she was retired and living alone, but Jess wasn’t really feeling up to a 45 minute talk about the weather or how terrible Minnesota was without having her around on this Thursday night. Besides, typical thirty somethings often blew off calls from their parents when it came to parties, right? Going to parties was not something Jess usually did in her minimal free time so she had to jump on this opportunity. Jess mentally made a note to call her mother later as she continued her shopping.  
    “What do people usually bring to these things?” she asked herself, grabbing a high end bottle of wine and placing it next to the Three Olives Cherry vodka and a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos. Cursing herself for not googling “what to bring to a party” before leaving the office, she kept adding items to her cart, wanting to make a good impression on her newest client.  
    Jess moved to Los Angeles from a small town in Minnesota a little less than a year ago to begin her own PR firm. She had just done a few engagements with a client named Scott who had finished his run on a daytime soap opera and was now trying to pave a new path. Jess wanted to be the girl to take him there, partially because she was trying to prove to everyone back home that she could run a successful business, but also because Scott was genuinely fun to be around. He was always warm and endearing, which was refreshing in a city that really didn’t give a shit about people.  
    The invitation to his party was a nonchalant one at best, but Jess believed from the short amount of time of knowing this man, he wouldn’t invite someone to something at his home simply because he felt obligated. He seemed like the type to believe in “the more the merrier.” When a few friends began talking to him about the party after one of the most recent events, of course he had gushed over the fact that Jess just had to meet more of his actor friends. This was the opportunity she had been looking forward to and she was not going to fuck it up by not bringing the right snacks or drinks. Sure, when she offered to bring something, Scott brushed it off and said she didn’t need to worry about it, but she wanted to make a good impression, damnit.  
    Unfortunately, her inexperience caused her to almost purchase the entire store. She was thankful for her four canvas shopping bags which were now being filled to their breaking points with chips and various bottles of alcohol. She was also thankful that the building she was headed to was not too far from the store. She adjusted the numerous shopping bags on her arms and headed out.  
***MEANWHILE***  
  
    Chris adjusted his NASA cap and pulled at the edge of his t-shirt as he stepped out of his car. He glanced up at the building briefly, smiling to himself that this apartment complex seemed to fit Scott perfectly. Large windows, newer architecture, nice landscaping. That was totally his brother’s motive.  
    He was thankful for a break in a hectic work schedule and a chance to reconnect with his younger brother. Chris could only handle the constant interviews and scrutinizing for so long before he needed to take a step back from the spotlight. When Scott insisted he make it out for the first party in his new apartment, he knew he had to make it. He was definitely looking forward to a night of letting loose.  
    The lobby was empty as he made his way towards the elevator. He was relieved whenever there weren't cameras waiting for him at every turn. He pushed the up arrow and heard the elevator give off a far away humming noise as it sprang to life, unfortunately at a floor far from the lobby. Chris felt his anxiety begin to rise as a few people walked in through the lobby doors but they instead headed towards the mailboxes, chattering away.  
    “Come on.” he muttered quietly. After a day jam packed with back to back meetings and various interviews, the last thing Chris wanted to do was to share an elevator with a stranger. It always went one of two ways. First, they would recognize him and immediately want to ask him questions or take a picture. He tried his best to be cordial, but honestly, he just wanted to make it to his destination. In the other scenario, people would recognize him, but wouldn't want to bother him. This meant they would stand as far away from him as possible, stealing glances at him without getting his attention which made for a totally awkward ride.  
    Chris always had his guard up because he never knew which crazies he’d run into. Just as the elevator approached the main floor, he heard the front doors of the building open again. He hit the up arrow for a third time and luckily the doors opened. He quickly hit the number 8 and the close door button to speed up the process.  
    “Excuse me!” a woman spoke up from across the lobby. “Hold the elevator please!”  
    Chris felt a pang of guilt as he hit the close door button again, pretending not to hear her. As the door began to close, he saw a woman in her thirties balancing four large shopping bags on her arms and in her hands. She was dressed professionally in a blush button down top and fitted black cropped pants, balancing on her black heels, she looked a little flustered but determined to be heard.  
    “Hey!” she almost shouted this time, clearly annoyed, her shoes clacking quickly across the marble floor. “A little help?”  
    Just as the door completely closed Jess hit the up arrow and the door immediately opened again, leaving her face to face with the man who had obviously disregarded her pleas for help. She looked up at him, taking in his beard and NASA baseball hat. His eyes were very blue and he was definitely attractive man. Too bad he wasn’t a gentleman.  
    “Thank you so much for holding the door, sir.” she said in a sarcastic high pitched voice, not breaking eye contact with the stranger. “I really appreciate it.” She glanced at the numbers and saw that the button for the 8th floor was already lit, so she made her way to the back of the elevator car. Immediately her phone started ringing again.  
    “Sorry,” he replied softly, letting out a deep breath. Chris was feeling slightly put in his place. Who was this girl? Her eye contact definitely challenged him. However, she had not made any sign that she recognized who he was. There was no flash of any type of recognition when she looked at him.  He couldn’t help but smile. It was not often that his identity was kept under wraps so it was a pleasant change of pace for sure. He crossed his fingers that no one else would be getting onto the elevator so he could get to Scott’s as quickly as possible.  
    She grumbled something inaudible to herself as she dropped her bags onto the floor and fished her phone out of her purse. “Seriously?” she muttered to herself, hitting the end call button quickly The elevator door shut and began to rise as she shoved her phone back in her purse.  
    Between the third and fourth floors, a large clank rang out and the elevator stopped suddenly. The bags were knocked over from the force and Jess grabbed onto the railing behind her as she let out a impulsive yelp. Chris put his hand out to steady himself as he grabbed onto the nearest bar.  
    “Woah!” he exclaimed.  
    The whole car went dark except for the emergency lights which flicked on automatically.  
    “Oh my god.” the girl muttered quietly as she began taking controlled breaths. “This cannot be happening right now…”  
    Chris pushed the open door button a few times. Nothing happened. He then focused on the 8 button. Nothing. The girl’s cell phone rang again. This time she answered it letting out a deep breath before speaking into the receiver.  
    “Hey mom.” her voice was shaking, clearly lacking the confidence she had earlier when she stepped into the elevator. “Yeah…sorry I couldn't pick up earlier…” her voice was quiet and Chris attempted to not eavesdrop on her conversation. He pulled his phone out, immediately texting his brother.  
   **Stuck in elevator between floors 3 & 4\. I think it’s broken.**  
    “Well, I can’t really do that right now because I’m stuck in an elevator….yeah…no, I’m not making up a story, Ma. Our elevator just broke down!” She let out a sigh, clearly listening in on her mother telling her exactly what she thought. “No, I’m not alone. There’s another guy in here.” Jess glanced up from her phone at the other passenger, who was staring at his phone screen. She adjusted herself so she was turned away from him. “No, Ma. That’s ridiculous. No—what are you going to do from Minnesota? I dunno, Ma. Caucasian. 6 feet tall, maybe? Brown hair. Beard…”  
    At that moment, Chris knew this girl didn’t have any clue who he was. He tried to hold in a smile as he listened to her slyly describe his physical features to her mother.  
    “No, Ma, I don’t know his name.” She paused.”Mom, no. I’m not going to—No, it WOULD be weird to ask him his name.” Another pause. “No, I assure you, that would be weird. Look, I’m fine. I’m about 87% sure I’m safe in this elevator.”  
    Chris looked up at her, making eye contact and smiling, holding in a laugh.  
    “Ok,” she continued, “Maybe 92% sure I’m safe.” she smiled back at him awkwardly, the look on her face seeming to communicate both slight embarrassment as well as apologies for him having to listen in on this conversation. “I gotta go, Mom. I promise I’ll call you when I’m off of this blasted elevator. Alright. Love you too.”  
    When Jess hung up the phone, she let out a sigh as an awkward silence hung in the air.  
    “Mom’s.” she said softly, laughing nervously as she gave a “what are you gonna do” look which made Chris smile.    
    After a moment, Chris broke the silence. “It’s Chris, by the way.” He said with a smile.  
    “Excuse me?” she asked, her face projected a look of pure confusion.  
    “My name. It’s Chris.” He extended his hand. “And you are—“  
    “Oh!” she exclaimed, caught partially off guard. She returned the handshake. “I’m Jess.”  
    “Nice to meet you, Jess.” Chris said, flashing a toothy grin. He looked towards her bags, contents spilling onto the floor. He bent down to help her pick up some of her scattered items. “Here, let me help you with that.”  
    “That’s ok. I got it.” she insisted, however, he continued gathering the lost items.  
    “You having a big party?” Chris asked, eyeing the bottle of tequila.  
    “God, no.” Jess replied with a scoff. “I was invited to a party tonight and I wanted to make a good impression.”  
    Chris gave her a side eye that seemed like he needed more of an explanation, so she continued. “I started my own PR firm here in LA a few months ago. I’ve been working with a client who invited me to his place for a party and I want to make a good impression on him. He’s on his way to becoming a big star and I’d love to help him get there.”  
    “Oh, so you're schmoozing him?” Chris asked, matter-of-factly.  
    Her cheeks flashed red in embarrassment. “Yeah, I guess. That’s what you have to do in this business. No one picks a PR person based on how nice of a person they are, it’s more of a ‘what can you do for me’ type of thing. This was my ‘in’ to showing him I'm worth keeping around.” She groaned. “And now, I’m going to be late because I’m stuck in here. Maybe I can call him…”  
    Chris could feel the anxiety radiating off of her. “My brother lives in the building, I texted him to see what exactly is happening.”  
    Jess let out a sigh as she dropped to her knees, beginning to search through her purse, first slowly but turning to frantically as she bent down closer to the floor “No….no no no….are you kidding me?!” She dumped her entire purse out on the floor, rummaging through the items. “I put his number on a sticky note….a bright pink sticky note….”  
    From what Chris could see, no bright pink sticky notes were anywhere to be seen in this pile.  
    She stopped sifting through her items, arranging her legs to a seated position. “I put it on my desk this morning…” She put her hand to her forehead in disbelief, scrunching her forehead and shutting her eyes. “Seriously, Jess. Of course you would leave his number at work.”  
    Chris felt like he was looking at an anxiety attack waiting to happen. However, usually during episodes like this it was he who was about to experience one.  
    “Hey!” he said in a soothing tone. “Hey. It’s going to be fine. I’m sure we won’t be in this elevator for too much longer—“ He was cut off by the ring of a text message. He read it and slumped down to the floor next to her.  
    She looked at him, expecting him to finish his thought. When he didn’t say anything, she groaned. “What does it say?” she asked.  
    “My brother said they are trying to figure out what the malfunction is.”  
    “Which means what, exactly?” she asked.  
    Chris let out a sigh. “It means, we are stuck in here until they figure it out. There is no estimated time yet. Could be a few minutes or a few hours.”  
    Jess let out a breath. “Okay…well…” she started shoving all of her belongings back in her purse, “This may or may not be the best time to tell you I have a slight case of claustrophobia.” She began rummaging through a shopping bag, pulling out Doritos and vodka. She opened the chips, kicked off her shoes. “So, if you don’t mind, I’m going to try to pretend that I’m not in this tiny elevator right now.” She popped a chip into her mouth.  
    Chris smiled. “I, too, would like to pretend I’m not in an elevator right now. Mind if I join your party?”  
    Jess smiled at him, handing over the bag of chips.

  
****  
    An entire bag of Doritos and half of a bottle of vodka later, Chris and Jess were trading random information about themselves. They each sat near each other, sharing a corner of the elevator. After taking a few shots, Chris felt completely at ease with this girl. He loved her laugh, which she freely used to show her enthusiasm either when telling stories or listening to him share.  
    “I broke my wrist on my 21st birthday.” Jess showed him her left wrist where two small lightened circles were faintly visible. “Want to guess how I did it?”  
    Chris gave a smile as he pondered for a moment. “21st birthday…Drunken escapade?”  
    She shook her head. “Nope. No alcohol involved.”  
    He raised his eyebrows, taking a swig from the bottle between them. “Are you positive there was no alcohol involved?”  
    She laughed. “Positive. It happened at 11:45 in the morning if you believe that.” He gave her a confused look which prompted her to continue. “I was ice skating as a sorority sisterhood event.”  
    “Oh!” Chris joked, “a sorority girl!” He raised his eyebrows.  
    She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, we took a break from our naked pillow fighting to go ice skating.” He let out a laugh. “You’ll never guess, so I’ll just tell you. We were finishing up our sisterhood event and I decided to take one more lap around the rink. Wouldn't you know that a fuckin’ 13 year old boy tripped me up and crack, fractured.”  
    “Kids” Chris muttered, shaking his head.  
    “Exactly!” Jess exclaimed with enthusiasm, grabbing the bottle for another sip. “He should have known I wanted to go get drunk for my 21st. Not go to the ER.” She downed another shot and tried to hold in her distaste for the alcohol. He let out a laugh at her squinty expression after the vodka.  
    Chris’s phone buzzed with a text message alert. Scott had been keeping in touch over the last hour with random texts. “Oh! Are we getting rescued?” Jess asked, voice full of excitement.  
    He held his phone up. “Let’s see…” He read over the screen.  
    “What does it say?” Jess asked as if she were on the edge of her seat.  
    “They are hoping to get us out of here in the next hour or so.”  
    Jess let out a sigh. “Well, I guess it’s good I had the right idea to bring snacks.”  
    Chris laughed. “Yes, you must have seen the future.”  
    “Would you want to know the future?” she asked, pulling open a bag of Twizzlers. She offered the package to him and he took two for himself.  
    “Isn’t that part of the fun of living though?” he pondered, “Not knowing what’s going to happen?”  
    She paused, chewing thoughtfully on her licorice. “I see what you’re saying.”  
    “This elevator just got deep, didn’t it?” Chris asked.  
    She smiled apologetically. “Sorry, I’m the queen of random questions while drinking.”  
    “Would you want to know the future?” He asked. “Like, for your superpower?”  
    “Woah.” she deadpanned with a face of shock. “Superpowers are way different than seeing the future. One topic at a time, Chris.”  
    He held his hands up in defense. ‘Ok! Sorry.” He took a bite of his Twizzler. “You didn’t answer the future question.”  
    She took a sip from the bottle and handed it back to him. She removed a hairband from her wrist and sat up to pull her brown hair into a messy bun. Chris watched her swift movements and found himself looking at her longer than he had intended. Thankfully she didn’t notice. “I think, for knowing the future, I would want to be able to pick and choose. I mean, I don’t want to know when I’m going to be done living on this planet, because then I’d be a ball of stress towards the end. However, I’d want to know when it comes to time with loved ones.”  
    “Hey now!” he exclaimed, pointing a Twizzler in her direction. “You can’t pick and choose if you can or can’t see the future!” He took a bite of the candy and continued, “What if it were all or nothing?” He asked.  
    She scoffed. “I hate all or nothing scenarios.” She let out a sigh. “Alright then no, I wouldn’t want to know.”  
    “And for your superpower?” he asked.  
    Her eyes lit up. “Wait! You didn’t answer.” she pointed out, smacking his arm with a Twizzler. “You don’t get to run the show in this elevator, sir.”  
    He chuckled. “I wouldn’t want to know either.” He smiled at her. “And as for a super power, it would be fun to move things with my mind.”  
    “You could move this elevator to the 8th floor.” She pointed out.  
    “Exactly!” he agreed, giving a half smile. “Or, I could just have pizza be delivered onto the elevator so we could keep hanging out.”  
    “How would the pizza get in here?” she asked. “That doesn’t make sense.”  
    He laughed. “Don’t tell me how to use my superpower.” He flung the Twizzler back at her and she let out a squeak.  
    “I’m right though!” she replied. “Unless you could make the pizza be able to go through steel walls.”  
    “You’ve really thought this through, huh?” he asked, thoroughly enjoying this conversation.  
    She shrugged. “I get lost in my head sometimes.” She pointed to her brain. “Lots of interesting stuff up here.”  
    “Which super power would you want?” he asked, intrigued to know more about this girl. He was really enjoying spending time with her, pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to talk to her.  
    “I’d love to be able to fly,” she replied. “I know, it’s lame.”  
    “No,” Chris assured her. “Not lame at all. Where would you fly to first? Missouri?”  
    She gave a look of confusion. “Missouri? Do you mean Minnesota?” she asked, holding back a laugh. “Listening in on my conversation with my mom, huh?” she smiled.  
    He held his hands up in defense. “Hey, it was not intentional.” He smiled at her. “I appreciated your sly attempt at describing me to your mother.”  
    Jess’s cheeks reddened in embarrassment. “Yeah, sorry about that. She’s very leery of Los Angeles and it’s people. It’s very different from Minnesota.”  
    “I’m sure it is. I’m originally from Boston.”  
    Her eyes lit up. “So you get it! It’s so different here than home.”  
    He smiled. “Yes. Quite a difference. I love going home whenever I can to be able to find some normalcy.” He used his fingers to put air quotes around his final word.  
    “What brought you out here?” she asked.  
    Chris pondered for a moment. Should he tell her he’s an actor? Should he make up a story? He wouldn't mind seeing her again, so lying probably wouldn’t be the best bet.  
    “Work.” he said nonchalantly with a shrug. “Luckily my brother moved out here too so that helps.”  
    She smiled. “I wish I had someone like that out here.”  
    “How long have you been here?” Chris asked, chewing thoughtfully on a Twizzler.  
    “6 months.” she replied. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, some days it’s awesome. However, every once in a while there are days that aren’t so great…”  
    “Some days it sucks.” he stated. “I get it.” He smiled at her. “You gotta find some good people! That always helps.”  
    “I’m trying.” Jess said with a sigh. “It’s so hard balancing the PR business itself with a growing client base. I feel like I’m on call 24/7. Plus, my family’s back home so I’m constantly FaceTiming or messaging them.”  
    “How does your boyfriend feel about you being so busy?” He asked with a joking tone.  
    She smiled at him. “Wow. Yeah, no.” She shook her head. “I don’t have any boyfriend material on my radar. Who has time to date anymore?” She took a swig of alcohol. “If I wasn’t drinking right now, I’d think that was a sly way to find out if I’m single.”  
    “Maybe it was.” He made eye contact with her, reaching for the bottle. “Would that be such a bad thing?”  
    Her expression turned to one of disbelief. “You cannot be serious.”  
    He let out a laugh. “What? A guy’s not allowed to ask?”  
    “No, I mean, you are allowed to ask! It’s just—“  
    “I’m not your type?” he asked, giving her a half smile. He felt like he was teasing her.  
    “Are you serious?” She grabbed the bottle of vodka back from him. “You are the hottest guy in this elevator right now. Totally my type.” She took an extra long swig of alcohol as she attempted to figure out what to say next. She let out a laugh. “No, I just didn’t expect the guy who wouldn’t even hold the door for me to try to find out my relationship status.” She looked at him square in the eye, challenging him to explain himself. A smile slowly replacing the smirk on her face.  
    Chris groaned, embarrassed. “I’m sorry about that.” He let out a sigh. “I was looking to have some alone time on the way to my brother’s place.”  
    “Alone time in an elevator?” She asked, raising her eyebrows. “Were you going to—-“ she motioned towards him, hoping he’d catch the joke.  
    He laughed out loud. “No! I just don’t love sharing elevators with people.” He chuckled and shook his head at her. He pointed at her with a huge smile on his face. “You are ridiculous.”  
    She shrugged. “I’ve been drinking. Not my fault.”  
    “You started it. It’s totally your fault.” His phone alerted again. “That’s my brother. Hang on.”  
    Jess’s mind was spinning. It all was fuzzy and she was cursing herself for not eating lunch today. Did this attractive man just make a pass at her? Had she really alluded to him jerking off in the elevator? The alcohol must have been going right to her head.  
    She couldn’t help but listen in on his conversation. “Yeah,” Chris said. “No, we’re good.” There was a pause. “Yeah, I’m actually in the elevator with a girl named Jess.” He smiled at her. “Yep. Totally. Uh-huh. Great. Alright. Thanks.” He hung up the phone. “Looks like they figured out the malfunction. Should be any minute now.”  
    Jess’s heart sank. She had such a genuinely good time with this guy and was not looking forward to ending it. She began putting chips and bottles back into her bags. “ _Don’t be ridiculous, Jess_.” She cursed herself. “ _You spent, what, like 2 hours with this man? Settle down._ ”  
    “Thanks for letting me join your ‘not stuck in the elevator’ party.”  
    She smiled. “I’m glad you joined me.”  
    “I’m glad you fought to get on this elevator.” He sucked in a breath, suddenly feeling nervous. “Look, I know this is going to sound lame…”  
    “Do you want me to look away while you have your alone time in the elevator?”  
    He narrowed his eyes at her, smiling as he shook his head. “No. I wanted to see if I could get your number.”  
    She smiled at him, unable to believe this was happening. She was never the girl to get picked up in bars among her friends back home. She was always seen as the “friend.”  
    “I mean, if you don’t want to give it to me, it’s fine.” Chris backtracked.  
    “Oh!” Jess snapped out of her wandering thoughts. “Sorry! No, Yes! You can have my number.” Her cheeks grew more crimson as she rambled off her number to him.  
    He sent her a smiley face which made her phone alert go off just as the elevator began to move.  
    “I’d love to hang out again sometime.” Chris continued.  
    “I’d like that.”  
    He smiled confidently. “Great.”  
    The doors opened onto the 8th floor.  
    “Here already?” She asked, picking up her bags. Chris held the door open for her as she exited first.  
    “Dude!” A voice called from down the hall.  “You broke the fahkin elevator?”  
    Jess turned to find her client, Scott Evans, jogging towards them. She was about to apologize for being late when she realized he wasn’t looking at her at all. She watched as he greeted Chris in a familiar hug. Confusion rushed through her brain.  Her face turned to a look of confusion, trying to figure out the connection between the two men.  
    “Scott,” Chris motioned towards Jess. “This is—“  
    “Jess!” He exclaimed with a smile. “Chris, this is that PR girl I was telling you about!”  
    “Wait.” Jess looked between both men. “You two know each other?”  
    “Scott’s my younger brother.” Chris replied.  
    She let out a thoughtful hum. “Small world.”  
    “Yeah, funny how these things work out huh?” He asked.  
    Scott let out an enthusiastic laugh and turned his attention towards Jess. “Bet you weren’t expecting to spend 2 hours in an elevator with Mr. Captain America himself.”  
    Jess furrowed her brow, trying to make sense of what Scott was saying.  
    Meanwhile, Chris had a pained look on his face. He hadn’t meant to lie to this girl, but he loved getting to be himself around her.  
    Scott looked back and forth between the two.  
    “Jess-“ Chris began.  
    “Wait…I just…” She held a hand up to Chris, cutting him off.  She needed a moment to process this new information. She turned towards Scott. “Can I use your restroom?”  
    Scott nodded, motioning towards his door which was partially open, letting the sounds of conversation and music escape. He watched as she walked away, then turned his attention towards his brother. “What just happened?”  
    Chris groaned. “I didn’t tell her.”  
    “Didn’t tell her what?”  
    “What I do for a living.”  
    Scott’s eyes filled with surprise. “You didn’t tell her who you are?”  
    Chris shrugged. “I told her my first name, but not who I play in the movies. In fact, I never told her I was an actor.”  
    His brother’s expression changed from surprise to unbelievable. “Why the hell not?”  
    Chris sighed. “I was going to tell her, it was just so nice to get to meet someone who didn’t think they knew me already.” He ran his hand over the back of his neck. “She’s fahkin cool, man. We talked for the entire two hours.”  
    “I know! That’s why I invited her!” Scott exclaimed. “She has the word ‘perfect’ written all over herself for you. She’s definitely one of the good ones.”  
    “She saw me for me, man.” He let out another breath. “It was like a fahkin breath of fresh air.”  
    Jess reappeared in the hallway, this time without her bags.  
    “I’m so glad you made it!” Scott exclaimed, turning his attention towards her as he pulled her into a hug.  
    She smiled. “Thank you for the invite. I brought snacks so I just put them out in the kitchen. Well, what’s left of them.” She glanced at Chris nervously.  
    “I’m going to let you two talk out whatever this is.” Scott motioned between Jess and Chris.  
    Once his brother disappeared, Chris immediately started to explain himself.  
    “Jess, I—“  
    She stopped him. “Are you married?” she asked.  
    “No.”  
    “Any children?”  
    His face expressed his confusion as she continued. “I never asked what you did for a living, so that’s partially on me.”  
    “I should have told you.”  
    “Yeah, that would have been nice. But I understand why you wouldn’t have lead with that.”  
    He smiled. “I’m not married, no children.”  
    “So you’re totally single?” she asked.  
    He nodded. “Totally.”  
    “And you asked for my number?”  
    He grinned at her. “Wait…was that a question or a statement?” He let out a chuckle. “Because, yes. That happened.”  
    She blushed, letting out a laugh. “My head is spinning at the moment.” She paused. “Do you really want to hang out again?” she asked. “I mean, now I know you’re an actor so you could just be saying what you think I want to hear.” She smiled to let him know she was partially kidding.  
    He scoffed. “Jess, I wouldn’t ask for your number if I didn’t intend on calling you and asking you out again.”  
    “Again?” She asked. “Did we already have our first date in an elevator?”  
    He laughed. “We had drinks, food, and good conversation. All of which are the makings of a great first date.”  
    She let out a laugh. “I went on a date with someone I didn’t even know I was on a date with! That doesn’t happen every day!”  
    He glanced towards the door of Scott’s apartment, seeing his brother smile at him before closing he door. Clearly he had been eavesdropping and saw his signal to disappear. Once it was clear, Chris moved closer to Jess, testing the waters.  
    “I had a great time and I’d love to see you again.” His words were sincere and he was feeling confident.  
    She smiled at him, sending the signal that she was ok with his sudden proximity. “I’d love to see you again too, Chris.” She gave an unsure look. “Just one thing?” She asked.  
    “Mmhmm?” He asked, leaning in closer.  
    “Next time,” Jess replied, “Let’s stick to the ground floor.”  
    Chris let out a breath of relief. He had a great feeling about this girl after only one “date”.  He couldn’t wait to see what would happen on their second.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I really appreciate any constructive feedback or just hearing if you enjoyed part of my writing.


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